Old ties
by Naniris
Summary: Guardian forces were a taboo to use for good reason. They consume memories. That particular habit stems from their distant ancestor. Chapter 3: Squall and his team were looking for GFs for their final battle. Too bad that will be postponed indefinitely.
1. Old ties

Prototype/Final Fantasy 8  
Written in such a way that you need to know both games to truly get all the references. Written as a challenge in a drabble meme.

Title: Old ties

There's an island laboratory, practically on the edge of the map, where monsters lay and nightmares sleep. In the deepest recesses of its bowels, hidden from sunlight after thousands of years, lies a tank with a hooded man floating inside.

The concoction of chemicals, bioreceptors and feedback blockers in the fluid has decayed into a cloudy mush, their effectiveness much past their due date for replacement. Monitors and warning systems have long since been powerless so they'll be no warning when the system finally fails and the prototype inside is released.

It's rumored that Guardian Forces consume memories. This is true. What no one even has an inkling about, is that the GFs are man-made and from the long forgotten past when science, not magic, reigned. And the scariest little fact of them all? The source of all the mutations that led to GFs, to their symbiotic and parasytic relationship with man, that strain of DNA and RNA that boggles the greatest minds of all time, even end-times?

That virus that led to some of the most powerful beings known to existence is personified by a vengeful and petty scientist that doomed a city to pay for his death. A man that killed tens of thousands of innocents in the name of his personal justice. A man that has been knowledgeable of what he was used as a template for, a man aware that soon he'll be free from the only prison that could hold him, a man that stewed in his vendetta for revenge long after the descendants of those who imprisoned have petered out into the genetic pool, the bloodline dead.

A group of SeeDs, young yet battle-hardened mercenaries, stumbled on this island far from any other landmass and fought the last guardian meant to stop Alex Mercer from escaping, the last fail-safe to keep the virus in check and trapped too far from land to rain his brand of careless chaos on unsuspecting towns and cities.

The long drawn-out battle shook the compound to its base and with a high-pitched creak the glass cracked in a single diagonal line across stress points that had slowly picked away at the tempered material. Soon, spider webs of cracks crisscrossed back and forth and the pressured liquid inside seeped out for only a second before the force shattered the entire enclosure.

Zeus was now free.

Zeus was so hungry.

Zeus knew he had a ride to catch.

Squall would soon be needing all the help he could get as another Sorceress' war had suddenly become the least of his problems.


	2. Legendary

**Old ties**

**Chapter 2: Legendary**

* * *

An old man unknowingly lectures his grandson about history turned legend, his tale eerily accurate behind the vague words, although out of order.

_"Long, long ago...When this world was just made, there was a strong god called 'Hyne'. This god was very, very strong, but after fighting a lot of monsters, he became very tired. So he made 'people' like you and me to do all the work, and the god went to sleep. _

_However, the god was very surprised when he awoke. Surprised that there were so many people. Hyne decided to reduce the number of people by taking away the children. Of course, everyone was scared then, too. And so, the battle against Hyne began. Even though the people were small, they all got together, and finally cornered him. Hyne didn't know what to do. _

_Out of desperation, he gave half of his body to the people and ran off with the remaining other half. Well, he was a god. Anyway, it turns out Hyne tricked the people. The half that Hyne ran away with was the half that had the stronger magic. Hmmm...It might be close by, actually. It might even be watching you." _

_

* * *

_

In the book retelling the Legend of Vascaroon a passage describes the god Hyne as a man, a sorcerer, a trickster. It is just as truthful as the old man's tale. Just another side of the twisted past.

_Once upon a time, there was a person named Hyne. Hyne was the ruler of the world. He became lazy and decided to make a tool to make his life easier. Hyne made a neat tool. His tool could make more tools by itself. Soon there were a lot of tools in the world. These tools were actually people. _

_When Hyne woke up, he was surprised because there were a lot of people. Hyne wanted to reduce the number of people, and used magic to burn up a lot of small people. The small people were children. The people cherished the children very much. So the people rebelled against Hyne. Hyne used powerful magic to fight them. The people couldn't use magic, but they had wisdom. _

_Eventually, Hyne began to lose the war, because there were too many people to fight, and they were getting smarter. Therefore, he decided to make peace with people by offering them half of his body along with his powers. Hyne cut his body in half and gave the people half as he promised. _

_Then, another war started. People began to fight over the power Hyne offered them through his body. This war lasted decades. Finally, King Zebalga and the Zebalga tribe emerged victorious and demanded Hyne's body-half to get its powers. But the body ignore their commands. _

_Then, Vascaroon came to the rescue. He appeared before the confused Zebalgas and revealed to them that Hyne's body-half was corrupt and possessed no real power. The body-half was actually Hyne's cast-off skin. The Zebalgas were angered by this truth, and decided to destroy Hyne. The Zebalgas never found Hyne. People began to call him "Hyne the Magician" and continued to hunt him for centuries to come. _

_

* * *

_

In a classroom meant to teach the young how to assassinate efficiently, a computer terminal beeps on and is a few clicks away from revealing more details that gnaw the fabric of sanity between time and space.

_"The legend goes that the Great Hyne created people. The sorceresses were given a fragment of Hyne's own power. It's hard to determine how many sorceresses exist today, for many keep their powers concealed. However, it is believed that they avoid spreading their power too thin." _

_"Sorceress power has been passed throughout history by the process of embodiment. Any person who has the capacity to embody the great sorceress power is a candidate." _

_

* * *

_

A woman granted power beyond her imagination states a dire and dreadful fact.

_"A Sorceress cannot die while still holding onto the Sorceress Power."_

To be one with Hyne is to never know death, never know release, never know peace.

* * *

There are many interpretations about the creator, although one fact rings true no matter the legend. Gods are not figments of the imagination or socio-political tools. Gods live. Gods trick. Gods run. Over all these millennia, Alex Mercer's tale had twisted itself into what was now deemed Hyne; ruler, creator and god of them all.

Just as no one remembered that he's the source of the Guardian Forces, no one recalls that Elizabeth Greene is the second half that ran away and led to the Sorceress line. That her green orbs that crackled the air in Times Square were the first sign of what is now magic. Refined over centuries to allow Sorceresses to freely manipulate time and space, energy and matter, life and death.

Her mutated beasts freely roamed the land and transmogrified animals of the then into the monsters of the now. Tools that propagated her way. The worst of them had been long since shuttled to the moon in a last ditch attempt by scientific mankind to rid itself of the Blacklight plague, only to have the virus modify itself to survive the impossible and barren conditions of the cratered and airless surface. Lunatic Pandora is simply the faucet spouting the overflow from the moon back to darken the land in bestial blood.

Thankfully, all of humans left on the decimated planet are immune to the virus and carry its vestigial form in their cells like ancient man contained mitochondria. The more Blacklight interacted with their DNA, the more apt they are with magic and junctioning Guardian Forces.

Those with a direct line from Elizabeth Greene are capable of controlling the Sorceress Power, the strain in their cells adept at being a Leader mind. Only women could be Sorceresses, before referred as Runners but with more self-awareness, since the special viral strain can only be passed down via the maternal side just as mitochondria does. In fact, their abilities as a Leader mind extend past being able to freely use magic into easily controlling anyone in their presence.

All of humanity is infected with just enough to be turned into mindless drones at the whim of a descendent of Hyne, without the nasty side effects such as cancerous growths and mutagenic limbs.

That is, if they don't carry the protection of the Guardian Forces. Which is why Squall and his crew pose such a threat to Ultimecia.

Alex Mercer was the only male Sorcerer ever to exist. He could face up to Greene and fought her head on, but in the eyes of ruined society they are one and the same. They were both the Blacklight virus. They were gods and monsters, creators and destroyers. They would both be named Hyne.

When science had finally manage to get them both on the run, Greene once more slinked into the shadows and left the military men subdue Mercer, left them to believe that he held more power, more danger than she.

For decades he remained immersed in concoctions and fluids that trapped him on a molecular level, pieces of his biomass subtracted for infinite experiments. Attempts to undue to genetic apocalypse that had nearly wiped out mankind, to turn him into a vaccine against Greene's terrifying reign from the shadows as she never exposed herself to the government again. Instead of Zeus, he was given a new codename which meant 'servant', the rarely used 'hyne'. Over time, Greene was retroactively called the same.

When the hopes for a vaccine were given up on, he became a commodity instead of a resource to save mankind. The union of countries and companies that had long ago pooled their assets to trap Zeus now was at odds of how to best exploit their genetic miracle man. Since living in a world flooded by the Blacklight virus became commonplace, man once again fought amongst themselves and one corporation came out on top of them all.

But Alex isn't contagious, his power cannot be transferred, he's a corrupt version of the virus and the Zebalga pharmaceutical company could not use him to make the wonder drugs and treatments that Greene's highly mutating strain promised amidst its bloody chaos, even back at the beginning with Blackwatch.

However, corporate advisor Vascaroon detailed an action plan about why spending any budget on Mercer was a dead end and that even keeping Mercer in stasis was a waste of money if no profit can be made off of him. Going after Greene was where the payoff was at.

And lo, future Sorceresses would now be persecuted for their powers.

So Zebalga's CEO deemed the 'Hyne' project canceled and to liquidate, quite literally, all of its assets. Only Vascaroon was a corporate spy and whisked Mercer away from the pharmaceutical company to a weapons manufacturer.

And lo, Guardian Forces were born on a Deep Sea Research Lab practically at the edge of the map.

Alex Mercer cannot infect like Greene, but he can consume and replenish his biomass. After many arduous and agonizing experiments that ripped away pounds of his flesh to merge with the test subject's, a breakthrough occurred.

The scientists had managed to isolate Mercer's web of memories, the neurons that made up his brain and mind. And if they isolated a fragment of it along with a large amount of biomass, the test subject would survive the exposure as the biomass lived on with a mental link to the primary body that was Mercer.

And the best part of it all? These new guardians protected the user from mind control from minor carriers of Greene's primary strain; the strongest GFs could protect from even a direct descendent.

Man now had the tools to fight against the deformed monsters, could now wield magic that only Sorceresses could before, could summon protection from creatures that bent to the will of the user. The consumption of memories turned up eventually and the project was sealed away with many of the GFs scattering to the winds as soldiers that tested them did not wish to return their power and simply walked off under threat of summoning a fire demon.

It lasted till they forgot their entire lives and were taken over by the GFs who used their empty shells of a body to explore the world. Finally age crumpled the host to dust and the GFs remained trapped in wait of another human to junction them up. The occurrence happening less and less often. That is until Odine rediscovered Guardian Forces and Cid Kramer established a Mercenary school dubiously named Garden.

After a few thousand years, Elizabeth Greene was no more. She was barely aware at the start of her infection, yet she persevered in expanding her powers to swell her progeny with strength and survival. Mixed in with humanity, she had literally been diluted in the blood of hundreds of thousands, leaving her mark over the entire world and in the cries of every child that ever looked at the moon.

Alex Mercer had not been as lucky. The memories consumed by the Guardian Forces made their way to him as telepathic broadcasts but they were not made part of him as when he consumed directly. Instead he spent a lot of time thinking by himself, of himself. The bits of web that had remained with him became reinforced as his thought process looped in on itself.

He could still recite his social security number, yet he did not remember who his sibling was or even their gender. He knew he had one; name started with a D and that was remainder of the web the scientists had left behind for that particular section of memory. Their faces, though distorted by the dense liquid of his cylindrical cage, were etched deep into his mind.

Revenge and justice were old friends for Mercer. Even if those responsible are not around, he would still make someone pay.

And someone will as he has just been released from his prison and the GFs that resounded in his mind revealed Squall and Zell and Quistis were battling nearby. Their childhood memories still bobbed in his consciousness.

It was depressing that Zeus knew more about them than they did themselves, but then again he is Hyne and that makes him their god.

Sadly, he is not merciful god.

**A/N: So tell me, you think this works? Makes sense? Is passable? **

**Everything in Italics was taken from the final fantasy wiki site, so direct quotes from the game.**

**I don't plan on updating this fic often. I'm currently working on two WIPs, a L4D fic which might interest readers if they like this. And a FF8 fic that's slash. That's not counting story ideas for Prototype and Army of Two.**

So yeah, if I'm hit by inspiration I'll delve into this.


	3. Divine Encounter

Old ties

Chapter 3: Divine encounter

Lights swirled in his eyes as the world tilted askew. Stomach light, head heavy, Squall fought the urge to vomit and pass out on the cool metallic floor of the underwater labs as he rested on his knees. As squad leader, he was carrier for the Guardians not junctioned to the others. The way station, the jailer, handler and tamer.

He had an unusually high aptitude with handling several Guardian Forces at once, though not developed enough to junction more than one at a time. There normally wasn't any reason to hold more than two, three at most when he was a cadet. An order from Kramer to test his limits when he was barely a teen.

Yet they kept finding more and every asset had to be secured for the final battle. Which meant that he held eleven god-like powerhouses in his mind; the latest two a black dragon named Bahamut and the expansive Eden that refused to behave. A grueling battle against the Ultima Weapon the only respite between them.

A hand settled on his shoulder, a light thought touching his mind, an offer of help. He looked over to see his former instructor, her long hair smoothed back into its proper place, eyeglasses straight and polished clean, as though she hadn't almost died minutes ago. Though it went against protocol, he released Ifrit, Quezacotl and Siren into Quistis' disciplined persona.

Long since tame, those three behaved well enough with any SeeD. Along with an obedient Cerberus, Quistis could handle the heavy presence with some effort. He kept Shiva to himself though. She helped control the growing crowd in his soul, even though other Guardians surpassed her in battle prowess. Her icy protectiveness shielded him when they tried to tear at his will and free themselves before he broke down their spirit.

Like now with Bahamut's smoky growl calling him a fool and Eden giddy with a sweet malice that beckoned him to delve deeper into the facility, to see what surprises lay in store since he slayed the gatekeeper.

"Dude, you okay? I could carry some too. Got way too many. Last one was freakin' huge!" Zell already bounced from foot to foot, his body recovered after colliding itself against an unknown beast that nearly killed them with every attack. He had Alexander, a good match since that GF had more self-restraint than the martial artist and didn't crowd him out. Unlike Ifrit that had taken over once and reveled in forcing the acrobatic body to perform life-endangering feats.

No, Zell couldn't handle anymore. Maybe Carbuncle or Cactuar, but Squall didn't want to risk having a teammate having a sudden urge to hide in a burrow or explore a desert.

He stood up, decision made. "Let's go." After this, they had to return to Esthar. Get Dr. Odine to devise a containment that allowed quick access and junctioning other than a human brain. Something better than a lamp, like what had happened with Diablos. The expectations piled on him were past ridiculous and he didn't need to battle every GF that regained independence through a magical loophole.

Before he could take a step forward Eden bulged outward, filling his senses with flowers and decay. _Stupid boy, don't leave yet. There's one last encounter. It's your responsibility now. _Her voice was smooth like glass and cut him deeply with every utterance.

He swallowed down the pain of it, ready to shake it off when Bahamut slinked forward, dense smoke and claws gripped into his soul. _Interloper, meddler of binds and seals. HE is free and your hands will be covered in blood. _The disgust and resentment flowed like thick muck over his inner being, yet Squall only tightened his jaw and sighed in response. Then the dragon raised his thunderous voice past Squall's confines into the minds of the nearby GFs. _Listen to me, Guardians. Remember your past. Creator is awake. Destroyer is free. HE hungers for his flesh. HE will render apart every single one of us._

The goddess, in all her mass, twirled around and Squall felt a piece of himself tear free. _It shall be glorious! _Never had he felt such exuberant despair.

A roar of internal force, a bellow of power and reprimand. Talons digging in as wings extended. _Eden, you have gone mad. Remember your purpose. _

It was almost enough to make Squall grimace outwardly when cool tendrils soothed the sting away. Shiva encircled his sense of self, fingers smoothing out the cracks and wounds caused by the others. _Silence. You have a new purpose now. We serve SeeD. I serve Leonheart. You are harming him and I will not have it. _When her grip tightened possessively, the ache she unknowingly caused went unspoken as Squall waited it out.

Amusement full of silk and razor-wire brimmed in Eden as she encompassed Shiva in derisive mimicry. _Petty and trite, your subservience is a mockery of your function. Be honey and spice all you want, you eat him up same as we. _Shiva literally bristled with jagged icicles that bit into the armored body around her, Eden cooing at the attempt.

Though a battle of thoughts raged within, Squall only pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed in slowly. He could sense the other GFs inside begin to stir, wanting to speak out their piece, to face the newcomers and claim the territory that was his soul. He was lucky that Irvine had the Brothers, since they would have jumped right in. Unlucky that he was carrying Diablos that thrived on chaos and would urge the fight on no matter the victor. He glanced sideways at Zell and changed his mind. "Come here."

Zell's wide eyes belied his understanding as he walked up and let Squall place his hand over his forehead. With Pandemona and Diablos distracted, he slyly slipped out a restless Carbuncle and Cactuar into Zell. However, due to the increasing maelstrom inside, he was unable to hold back Tonberry that had hidden from notice till now. He had been too focused on the more dangerous ones.

A shocked frown stumbled out as Zell felt the unaccustomed weight on his mind, but he held on and gave Squall an eager thumbs-up. That was good. Tonberry was slow, but not dim-witted. He knew better than to act up now of all times. Muscles tightened as Zell started to bounce on his heels, the psychic energy transforming into kinetic as Carbuncle and Cactuar stretched out in his comrade's looser being.

Quistis walked in between them and pushed them forward. "Come on now. We've been down here long enough. I'd like to see the surface again, breathe in fresh air." Her smile was tight, he knew from the strain of carrying several humanoid guardians. Unlike the ones in Zell, they tended to talk and tease more often, even in what they thought as friendly jest.

A deep chuckle, more of an echo than a voice, bounced off the walls hiding its source. Gruff from disuse a man spoke out from the shadows as reddish black ooze seeped into the chamber up from the cracks caused by Ultima's death still glistening in jagged melted metal. Squall readied his blade as Quistis and Zell took up offensive positions by his side. Just one more battle in this damnable crypt.

Teeth, then bone covered in violet tinted slime bubbled up, soon followed by ice-blue eyes that scanned the room. Squall raised his gunblade, ready to lunge at the new foe before it reformed when Eden gripped him inside and enforced her will thus halting his attack. _Do not struggle. He will toy with you if you do. It will be much more pleasant for it to be quick. _His comrades couldn't know why he faltered and mistook his ambivalence as a sign to wait and see.

Bahamut burst forth and burned Eden off Squall, hissing as he circled her. _Fight on, foolish warrior. This is your new charge. Eden and I were meant to stop HIM as a team if the Destroyer ever broke free. In her state, she's of no use to weaken even a whelp. Beat down a god and summon me to deal the killing blow. The more time HE gains, the higher fatalities will be assured. _Though the dragon urged Squall to hack away, the SeeD knew better than to blindly face an unknown opponent once the moment had passed.

His opportunity had been lost as in those few seconds of distraction a hooded man had pulled himself into being. He stood before them, black ichor still sliding off his form, his clothes coalescing and splitting as they merged with his body. Pale skin, a strong face, eyes that glowed from the shadows of the hood, an expression of cocky self-assurance. "Don't mind me. Too much time in the tub. Prunny skin." As he waggled his fingers on one hand, blunt claws sliced out of the tips consuming the skin and bone till only metallic blades remained. He considered them with mild annoyance, then slammed them together as they fused into a single thin sword as the rest of the arm disfigured into a skeletal frame. He took in the sharpness, or lack thereof, and lightly frowned as it then shifted into a dense knobby mass.

It wasn't the transformations that worried Squall, had seen his fair share of monsters that were similar; it was the cool demeanor that could not hide the simmer of aggression underneath. Whoever this was, he did not fear them. Did not feel the need to intimidate or boast. Not even spend a good hour explaining his motives. That confidence was a giant red-flag, a blazon of danger clearer than Eden's hypocritical tears as she lauded glories and benedictions, yet prayed to be spared pain.

Quistis spoke up first, refusing to be cowed as she snapped her whip midair. "State your name and business. Do not trifle with us. That is your only warning." Zell laughed incredulously at her bravado, yet cracked his knuckles as he turned his head side-to-side. Fists raised, ready to fight at a moment's notice. Squall couldn't fault them for returning to their basic training, info-gathering and battle readiness respectively.

Nonetheless, something bigger was going on. The man before them was unlike anyone they had ever faced, including Sorceress Edea. He emanated power, true, yet it didn't feel magical or technological in nature. It was organic and solid, not ethereal like a spell. Every single being on the planet had some magical qualities that could be felt out over time, some stronger than others. The man was a void, empty yet active like a black hole. Any surrounding ambient magic around his position was summarily consumed. A vacuum, which meant that most spells would be ineffective.

Fortunately, SeeDs were hoarders, not casters.

The question went unanswered as the man cocked an eyebrow and smiled wickedly. "You'll see soon enough. Get out your big guns, summon your parasites. They have something I want back." Squall leveraged his weapon in defiance as those few words sent a ripple through their minds. Eden fought Bahamut, trying to surrender, beg for leniency if she forced out the others. Yet that wasn't what troubled Squall. It was Pandemona whispering to Shiva about misgivings and fleeting centuries-old memories. It was Diablos' normally devious self subdued as he cracked wings in heated beats. He could see it in Quistis as she tilted her eyes up and to the left. A tell-tale sign that she was conversing inwardly with Guardians, her face clouded in confusion.

The sharp unexpected screech from his left brought his attention to Zell, whose eyes were no longer azure blue. Instead the pupil was fully encompassed in the dark featureless hue of Carbuncle's presence. Teeth bared, the low yowl of anxious aggression emanating from deep within. The manifestation was a nasty side effect of too many GFs in one host, overwhelming the human mind into submission instead of the other way around. Nonetheless, Carbuncle? The helpful little rabbit Guardian that only ever cast reflect on his team? "Zell."

The fighter turned his head sideways, an animalistic tilt kept his eyes on their new enemy. "Still here. Alexander's helping but Carb really wants out. He's angry, never felt him like…" A gasp for air interrupted Zell as the emerald-furred creature burst free, coalescing in front of the weakening fighter as it took from his strength to re-enter reality.

In just that instant, the large ruby on its forehead began to glow a fiercer red than usual as it concentrated thus far unknown destructive forces. Whatever attack would have emerged will never be witnessed as a fleshy tentacle with skeletal prongs shot forward to impale Carbuncle and whip it around against the walls and floor, its blood showering Zell as he clutched his chest. The sudden merciless violence broke their impasse as Zell screamed, sympathetic nerves reporting back on the Guardian's painful demise as tufts of gory fur stuck to his clothes. "He's eatin' him. Squall, he's eatin' him alive!"

A leather whip flew fast and true as Quistis tried to ensnare the smallest GF in a vain hope to save it. If she could release the Guardian, permit Carbuncle to become noncorporeal and escape back into Zell, then it could survive the unpitying injuries. It was no use as the bloodied, mangled creature was suddenly pulled high above the monstrous man and slammed down at his feet, the broken body pulled inward, toward the hooded beast's core, the weakened chittering from Carb barely audible as the head was the last to be consumed. As though in wonder, their attacker muttered to himself. "Cross? That puny thing had Cross, huh?"

Pale, covered in cold sweat, Zell struggled to his feet, doubled over to vomit, then pulled a quick short-jump to psych himself back into their battle. He had felt every moment of the grisly death, but there wasn't any time to deal with the psychic backlash. He dashed forward, the squeak of his sneakers unreal as he left a trail of bloody footsteps in his wake. His body rose as he pulled his upper half in one direction, the lower rapidly gaining explosive momentum for a formidable spinning kick.

The unnamed foe had not expected a counterattack, as could be seen by his widened eyes and the loss of the smug smirk, yet a hardened shield appeared from his flesh and blocked the massive blow that shattered the hasty defense. Quistis took that moment to rush in herself, striking with her fire-encased whip that flayed the skin and muscle off ordinary men. The stench of burnt meat filled the room as each of her strikes tore at the loose mass, yet the swift recovery had her question whether or not she was landing any damage at all. Between the break of her moves, Zell roared in with a fearless melee that concussed straight through the mystery man's body, tumbling him backwards as ripples formed on his fluid body.

In the background, Squall watched it all from a crouch, gunblade pierced through the floor to hold him up. When Carbuncle was…consumed… no other way to put it; when that happened, the floodgates of repressed memory had collapsed and everyone had something to say. Pandemona and Diablos conspired to overtake Squall and force him to flee; they needed ample space in order to battle effectively, long range and flight their forte. That wasn't what had weakened him though, not even Bahamut barking orders at him as Eden danced in utter desolation.

He could see how the unnamed monster was adapting to their speed, dodging the strongest of Zell's punches, avoiding the Quistis' attacks well-enough that she could only connect glancing blows. The first strikes were mere luck and inexperience that had caught him off-guard and now he had gone on the offensive, reverting back to the clawed hands that were no longer dull. It forced Zell into retreat as he tried to get around the man and attack from behind. Quistis' strongest whip was shredded and snagged to drag her into the danger zone, but she relinquished it too late and was pierced through the shoulder by the tentacle-whip mid transformation, the same arm that had caught her weapon. Caution thrown to the wind, the fighter ripped the arm apart, freeing Quistis, as he then head-butted the surprised man.

It left his back primed for an attack, a perfect opportunity for Squall to slice him in two. Another chance lost due to a Guardian Force deciding to voice an opinion.

It was Shiva as she embraced him in a protective manner, while attempting to burrow deeper into his soul. Since he had accepted her frigid love in order to gain from it, she too claimed sole occupancy within his protective mental shell which meant that even Squall could not remove her if she did not wish to leave. Blue lips brushed against his inner ear as she spoke to him in fearful whispers. _He is Hyne, Leonhart. Monster from the distant past. So long ago I thought of him as myth, a new religion birthed from the merger of older ones. He is no god! But he is still creator. We must escape. I do not wish to fail you, but I cannot face him. _

Squall couldn't really give a damn if he wanted to. After seeing what happened to Carbuncle, he wasn't planning on summoning anymore of the 'parasites' since that's what their enemy wanted. His team could handle this, have handled worse, but after all the encounters on the way down, they were low on supplies and healing paramagic. Quistis was drawing from her reserves to repair her ripped shoulder, which meant that she would be less effective as the fight wore on. Squall needed to get back into the game, all of their training strained the importance of a three-man team effort, one on offense, one on defense, one on support. Zell could unbalance the monster, priming him for Squall to deal heavy damage, Quistis minding their backs and distracting attacks as needed.

They could win this, but every second wasted was a chance lost.

Shiva shuddered, pressing herself flush against him in unwanted intimacy. In his real body, Squall felt his extremities become numb and useless, his temperature dropping dangerously low. He worked his throat, exhaling ragged breaths in visible white puffs "Let go." That was all he needed to say. No pleading or demanding could convey his authority better than that. Her tone sharpened into icy daggers as she released her hold, yet he could sense her attraction grow. _Be the warrior you must be, I will lend you my strength. _As the warmth rushed back into his limbs, he stood up and swung his gunblade in preparation. "Whatever."

Hyne, if the ice Guardian is to be believed, had raised his dagger-filled arm to slice down on Zell that recklessly landed core blows as he held on to the monster's neck, just in time for Quistis to wrap her secondary weapon around the gruesome limb and halt the attack. Squall ran towards the apex of violence, his gunblade sparking with his embodied will for carnage, the flash of his weapon as he leapt upward to land a cleaving blow the only warning Zell needed to halt his attack and back away.

As wounds went, it barely merited a gag. Squall had sliced soldiers in cuts so neat, their lungs still tried to pull in air, their hearts pumped blood into the air in the blazing clarity that he only felt mid-battle. Hyne's innards were featureless mounds of gore, ligaments and blackened bone, random support structures that shifted endlessly and quickly latched back together. Undeterred, he resumed his attack, his blade sundering the body as it tried to restore itself. Zell jumped in those momentary breaks when Squall needed to take a breath, to continue the onslaught, his eyes alight with a personal grudge from Carbuncle's death. From time to time, a bladed tentacle would try to crawl behind them, but Quistis caught on to it and stopped the sneak attack.

It was taking longer than expected, the mass of flesh no longer recognizable as human, yet it still lived. Quistis conjured up a Firaga, to no avail. The spell merely fizzled out at contact, as did any other magic, so the brute force of physical attacks was the only option available. Not so, by Bahamut's opinion. The dragon congratulated Squall on his warrior's skill; that it had been out of contact with humanity for so long it had not known that they had evolved to be so strong. To be able to best Hyne unprepared, truly a great feat. Now if Squall would relinquish command to Bahamut, he could blast the remains into ash; ensure that Hyne would rise no more.

As if Squall would listen to a GF he had just captured, would risk providing their enemy with another 'parasite' to eat. It hadn't escaped the warrior how Carbuncle's consumption had sharpened blades and restored form. Even as a glob, Hyne could wrap itself around Bahamut like an amoeba around a protozoan. It might take awhile, but his team was going to win this one the old-fashioned way

He had forgotten about Zell and his weakened barriers. Had forgotten that Cactuar loved a good physical brawl. Had forgotten that Zell zones out during long fights when he gets bored, giving just enough lee-way for the walking cactus to break free.

Just in time to be covered by an amorphous black mass and be no more as the fighter convulsed in shared agony.

Dammit.

Quistis rushed to Zell's side as Hyne roared back to life, his body covered in blackened spikes, body bulging with pressure a second before he expelled them forth in his own shower of a thousand needles. Within that moment before the attack, Quistis had conjured up a Protect spell, her dexterous hands experienced enough to pull it off. Squall wasn't that quick with magic, so he planted his blade into the floor and placed himself sideways behind it, the needles that tore at the sides of his legs stung fiercely, but the wounds would clot and it was only nicks, really.

Hyne began to laugh as he pulled together. "What a useless memory. Do you still have helicopters? No, that's too practical, isn't it? A flying school is the way to go." Squall could see the clothes more clearly, layers upon layers, no longer mixed together like putty. The eyes were the same though, cold and hateful even as lips curled in derision. "Almost had me there. Have to keep in mind that you're no longer human. Nobody is. Everything has the stench of Greene on it." In a burst of speed, Hyne shot forth, right arm a sudden flash of light as it turned into a large sword. Squall raised his weapon in time to deflect the blow, yet it pushed him back to his knees. "If Blackwatch could see what their Super soldiers would become…"

Words cut short as a knotted whip wrapped around Hyne's throat. Quistis pulled it taut as Zell rushed in leading with a kick that knocked the hooded head backwards; the combination would have decapitated anyone else. Instead, their enemy creaked his joints and straightened out his collar as he tore the whip loose. "Say Zell, anymore GFs you'd like to unload? Your friends aren't as generous." After experiencing two prolonged deaths, the fighter wasn't clear-headed enough to notice the ruse and took off to aggressively engage in hand-to-hand head-on combat.

The frantic unending barrage of attacks ensured that Squall and Quistis could not participate without risking Zell in the process. With a signal, Squall signaled to his teammate to pull Zell out of there. He was compromised for this fight. Too weakened to deal any real damage, too distressed to participate in a group effort, a liability if Alexander decides to protect him without his consent.

Before she could latch on to him, Hyne shredded her weapon as he continued to parry Zell's attacks with greater ease. He wanted to keep the fighter close, had figured out that Squall wouldn't attack, giving him time to fully recover. "Dammit Zell, disengage. This is what he wants!" Quistis' normally cool voice came out a bit shrilly as she pulled out another spare, each replacement weaker than the last. Squall cursed as he could sense their victory slip away, their cohesiveness as a tactical fighting force reduced to panic and grudges.

It was pointless to scream at Zell when he was this intensively driven to attack. Vision narrowed to just his target, it served well against the strongest monsters since he didn't become distracted by wounded comrades. An offensive shield that gave everyone else a chance to recover. Now his purpose had been turned inside out and Hyne knew it. "Quistis, curaga." Squall leapt into the fray, piercing Zell through his back into Hyne's torso. Their eyes met in that moment over Zell's shoulder, Squall stormy determination met the cold amusement of a psychopath as the fighter coughed up blood which was quickly absorbed into the monster's skin. Before tendrils of gore could race up his blade into Zell's gaping wound and consume him further, Squall pushed free and tossed the stunned body towards the glowing light of healing magic.

His weapon, still slick with blood, returned to slice away at the hooded man, and came back clean as the ravenous body lapped at it. Each of his moves was matched by Hyne, their speed now harmonized in a deadly dance of blades. Except now Squall had no recovery time, no one to take a turn when his muscles burned with exertion, his lungs gasping for air. He was being toyed with (_I warned you)_ as he could clearly see Hyne pausing in his attack, when he could easily skewer Squall. Of course, once dead, the Guardians would be trapped in his corpse till someone or something came along to draw them out.

Hyne couldn't draw thunder out of a cloud, his magical faculties being nil. He could mimic Cactuar's ability but not Carbuncle's reflect. Could he exploit that weakness?

Squall backed away and rested his weapon on his shoulder, his body shaking mildly as his heart pumped madly inside. "Listen up. I need answers." Bullshit, he needed results, needed Aura to force out their more powerful abilities without risking near death, needed his other teammates for support, needed Hi-potions in order to save up their magic, needed the GF's in his head to calm down and let him handle it. Gaining time would have to do. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I'm sure you're used to monologues, but I've been waiting for a very long time and don't have the patience for it." Before he finished speaking, Hyne was midair in a sudden jet of speed. Not headed for Squall, but to the prone Zell with Quistis hovering protectively. She was kicked away so brutally her broken arm rammed a jagged bone into her chest, blood painting the floor as she tumbled like a ragged doll towards the wall. From her jumbled position, she struggled to hold herself up with her one good arm and glowed oddly as a large weapon materialized above her. The Gatling gun took Hyne off-guard as it riddled him with bullets, Zell at his feet, readying to kick upwards when the barrage ended.

Squall didn't hesitate and ran full-speed toward them. He could see what they could not, that the limit break had surprised Hyne, not truly hurt him. When Zell launched himself skyward, Hyne was fully prepared to catch the outstretched leg and jab Zell in the stomach with a knobby fist that propelled bloody bits of stomach lining out his mouth. "C'mon. I know you have more parasites. Let them out." Face and hair a scarlet mess as he hung upside down, Zell gritted his teeth as his life-force pooled into a chaotic ball of energy. Disregarding the obvious damage to his body, he twisted in Hyne's grip and kicked with his other leg, connecting with the smug face. Once freed, he continued the fierce attack as he slowly bled to death internally.

No. He wasn't going to lose them. A GF was nothing more than a tool for him. Zell was a friend. A line had been crossed and priorities shifted drastically.

Squall didn't have any healing magic on him, nothing to restore them. He ran past the storm of blows to Quistis as she shuffled through her abilities. Through blood-stained teeth, she chuckled. "Do you think I should try Acid, Commander? Or Shockwave pulsar? It's going to hit Zell regardless." He drew several Curagas out of her, the last of the immense stock they had when they first entered the labs.

Without a second thought, he restored her body, thus losing the advantage of her Blue Magic. She groaned as the bone reset itself and her skin stitched back together, and looked at Squall questioningly. It was tactically correct to leave her wounded as she was more of an effective asset that way, Dire Battle 101. He helped her up and motioned to the fight raging next to them. "We're running. When I give the order, summon Cerberus."

Her brow knitted in confusion as she grabbed his arm. "But, he'll…" She didn't need to say it. Hyne would kill and eat the three-headed dog.

Squall shrugged free and pulled her face level with his. He couldn't have her question him now of all times. "I have a plan. Follow it." She nodded solemnly and stood back, at the ready.

He ran up to the grueling duel, using his attacks to steer them into a good position as Zell glancing punches tore at Squall's jacket and bruised the skin underneath. Satisfied enough, he called out. "Alexander! Zell's dying. It's your oath to protect him!" The Guardian, once Edea's protector, was a massive fortress with missile silos on its shoulders and an honor streak a mile wide. Under any other circumstances it would follow Zell's wishes, as it had been enamored by the fighter's honesty and unflinching sense of duty.

"Squall, no!" Broken out of his trance, Zell fought to keep his junctioned GF in check by clutching his head. Might have been able to pull it off if the previous escapees hadn't torn through his mental defenses.

As the gargantuan Guardian pulled free and filled the enclosed room with its dense mass, the two SeeDs were shoved aside towards the exit and the awaiting Quistis. "Now!" She crossed her arms and forced Cerberus into being though the muscular hound howled in fear as it shuddered violently into reality. Squall picked Zell up as he still racked fingers through his hair and cried out to Alexander to return. He leapt unto the hound as Quistis followed his lead. "Just run. Get us out of here."

As the fighter struggled in his arms, Squall focused a healing spell into the bruised torso, and then gripped the bloody hair, pulling it back, straining Zell's neck into an odd angle. "Dincht, listen to me. Dammit! Listen, you have to unjunction Alexander. You can't take anymore psychic backlash. It's a miracle you aren't brain dead, let's not push our luck." For his concern, Squall was backhanded hard enough to knock a tooth loose. He spat out the bloody shards and held on to weakening body as adrenaline left it.

Quistis glanced at him, then back to the front as she guided Cerberus through the maze of the research center, the beast running full tilt as it slobbered out labored breaths.

A weak fist knocked Squall's grip loose as Zell pushed himself free. They were too far to help Alexander, too many twists and turns to get back. "No, fuck. Squall, how could you? He's gonna die like Carb and Cactuar. You don't know how it feels, the way it just digs in and pulls you apart!" He wiped at his face, only smearing the blood around, though clear tracks showed up on his cheeks as he couldn't hold back tears.

Squall grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him in close. He wasn't normally this forward in his command. Usually he gave general orders and let his teammates use their discretion on how to handle things. "It's not an easy decision and it's not yours to make, so follow orders." Now wasn't the time for arguments or discussion, action had to be taken quickly against an enemy that never paused.

Disgusted, Zell shot forward and connected foreheads, grabbing Squall's own jacket to keep him from falling off their ride. "Fuck you! He'll be powerless without me backing him up. Maybe he has a chance with all that armor. Maybe…" Zell screamed hoarsely as he released Squall to clutch at his shoulder. Alexander had lasted an admirable eight minutes before being dealt a deathblow, the way Zell twitched and gasped was evidence enough that it still struggled with Hyne, but time was running out again.

The bitter taste of leadership burned Squall's tongue as he made his last plea to save the fighter from the torture of junctioned death. "Tonberry, take over. I know you've always wanted to, so go ahead. Zell can't stop you. Sever his connection to Alexander before it's too late." All of the Guardians wanted freedom above all else, and Zell was a strong body with few mental defenses making him a perfect host to manipulate.

Though pained and coiled into a fetal position, reliable Quistis holding him by the belt to keep him on top of Cerberus, Zell had enough presence to look up to Squall and shake his head. "Don't do this…not like this." Then his eyes grew confused and vacant as yellow blossomed over them, a sordid grin melting his grimace into mockery. "Done. Not a moment too soon. Hyne was tearing at Alexander's armor to get at the scrawny man underneath. Bet you didn't know that. That there was a man under there. Puny, skin and bones, pulling levers and pressing buttons." Zell's gloved hands moved in dainty mimicry of his words, small movements so unlike the brashness of the young SeeD.

Quistis released her hold on the belt and focused on guiding them out. Over the thunder of Cerberus' heavy breathing she shouted back in a mixture of concerned relief. "How's Zell?"

The tattooed head bobbed side to side as though shaking a marble loose as Tonberry's slightly effeminate voice made a run-down of what he found. "Sad to say he had a couple of strokes, though you couldn't tell right off the bat. He's half-blind in his right eye and can't feel anything below the belt. Not like that would stop him from fighting. A little brain damage here and there. Don't ask him to solve any math problems. He'll spout gibberish back."

She shook her head as though she pleaded for understanding, taking in all the facts at once. "For Hyne's sake, what…" Quistis, normally so assured of her words stumbled to a halt as her lips opened and shut uselessly.

Squall had no idea what she meant to say and it didn't really matter. The fact that they had fought the god they had been raised under had started to sink in. "It's just a saying Quistis, let it go."

In the silence that followed, Tonberry kept glancing at them both as he played with the body as a new plaything, stretching calves and twiddling fingers, twirling strands of blond hair with a wicked gleam in his piss-pooled eyes. "Can I really keep the body? Did you mean it? No, of course not. You'd kill Zell before letting me walk away. Oh-ho-ho, he is a firecracker. So angry at his commander. So betrayed."

Squall felt his stomach clench as he was sickened by the display. They really were parasites. "Shut up."

Tonberry leaned in and stroked along Squall's lips, attempting seduction with a virgin's ineptness. "You don't want me to be quiet, Leader. Oh, no you do not. See, I can sense Hyne just as he senses us. And he is quickly catching up. Alexander healed him up nice and Hyne is very _very_ fast. He'll be upon us before you see the sun again." Squall pushed him off, angered by Tonberry and by himself. If he hadn't been so weak, hadn't burdened Zell with more Guardians than he knew he could handle, then the battle would have gone differently.

Shiva slipped herself into his mind's eye and straddled his lap as she cooled his neck with softened lips. _Do not punish yourself, Leonhart. Better the fighter than the commander. Your burden is too heavy and Carbuncle would have freed itself regardless._ Squall wished to throttle her, yet kept that thought to himself. Once Ultimecia was slain and this new nightmare was settled, he would be rid of her and her ilk.

Instead he focused on reality, where his friendship was being violated instead. The green toad was relishing with pressing himself against Quistis' back, his erection prominent as Quistis ignored him with the measured patience of an old mother. He pulled him off and let hands wander under his shirt as Tonberry threw away any pretension of inhibitions. "You don't seem that worried."

"Because I have a seeee-cccrreeet." He lapped at Squall's throat and nipped with sharp incisors, obscene in his pleasure as his hips bucked in orgasm. With a satisfied moan, Tonberry leaned back and rubbed the wet spot over the jeans. "I coat my butcher knife with it, so when I DOINK! it's really effective." Out of the gloved palm, a slit tore in reality as a rusted blade pulled free followed by a vial of swirling red that looked like paprika and smelled like shit. "Isn't it pretty? I have a lot of poisons, but this is my favorite. My lady in red. My bloodtox."

With a lover's care, Tonberry tumbled it in his hands, the fluids inside coalescing in organic patterns. "I would have used it earlier, but it hurts you and me just as bad as it would Hyne. If I use it now, slow Creator down enough to get to Ragnarok, do you promise me Zell? He's leaking memories all over the place, so broken, in a few months he won't know his name and Alexander isn't around to pick up the pieces." One hand rubbed the deadly vial across his face as the other reached into the jeans to stroke the best part of owning a body. "None of the others will be as gentle as me, I can assure you. Siren might try to sweet-talk you, but she'll slip bad medicine down Zell's throat to hurry him along."

Squall was speechless, he could see Quistis shake her head in denial as she patted Cerberus' central head and whispered commands. What had he done? If Tonberry was doing this to the body, what was Zell's soul going through?

Suddenly aware that he was treading on dangerous ground, Tonberry pulled the fighter's hand out of his jeans and licked the fingers clean. "Fine, then. Don't give me your answer now. As a show of good faith I'll use my dear lady at the next bottleneck. Just remember that little Tonberry has done you many favors."

As warned, the sounds of destruction was growing ever closer. Instead of struggling through the maze, Hyne was punching straight through, a direct line of towards them.

Tonberry looked around then judged his throw carefully. When the racket grew loud enough to shake them, he threw the vial against the floor where it burst into a gaseous state that quickly filled the room in a red mist. Just then, Hyne burst through and roared as he staggered to a stop, gagging and coughing as he was blinded.

Tonberry's victorious embrace was marred by the smell of cum emanating from Zell's mouth. The price to be paid for a few more minutes of time. When had it gotten so steep?

The small radio attached to the collar of Squall's jacket squawked alive as Irvine's grainy voice made it through. "…oes..nybo…read me? C'mon guys! Anybody there? Squall, Quisty! C'mon. Anybody?"

Quistis turned back, smiling with a bitter hope. "We're close to the surface. We can make it."

He tried to return the smile, but couldn't. "This is Squall, prepare to launch. I want Ragnarok midair with the bay doors opened. The second we get on-board, blast away from all land."

Irvine's voice crackled clearer with each word. "Whoa, okay, got that. We got our own emergency up here, pal. Rinoa is freaking out, screaming about Zeus and Mercer. How we got to jet out of here. She's all floating and sorceress-y if you get my drift. Dangerous to be around." Obviously the gunslinger had no idea what was the current definition of dangerous to be around.

It would be nice to get back to regular peril. Squall had a gut feeling that Hyne couldn't leave without transportation. "We'll deal with that later. Right now I have Hyne to concern myself with."

"Did you say Hyne?" The incredulity was clear enough for Irvine to be right next to him, screaming in his ear.

The crash of support structures and the cracking wall was the herald of things to come. Their bought time was up. "Get the ship ready!"

"Gotcha! No pressure. We're cool." Irvine had forgotten to click off the radio and the background hiss of Selphie pleading with Rinoa could be heard over the ambient static.

That's okay. Rinoa having another episode was just fine and dandy. As long as they got away, he could deal with it. He could deal with anything if given enough time to prepare. There it was again, that stubborn weakness that needled him in all of his plans.

Sunlight appeared unexpectedly when Cerberus bounded over a rail and into the wrecked and wind-blasted surface. With a confused stumble it padded in a circle as scared whimpers escaped each of its heads. "Above you, boy. Look up." Quistis stroked behind an ear and tightened her grip. Squall and Tonberry did the same on the other necks as Cerberus jumped from one crumbling pillar to the next.

It misjudged the last leap, barely managing to hold onto the bay doors as it struggled to pull itself up, Quistis climbed up his head and waited for her comrades to do the same before she summoned Cerberus back into her being. "Come here, boy." When the body immaterialized, Ragnarok unbalanced perilously as its nose dipped toward the churning sea. Any other ship would have snapped in two, but even an inexperienced pilot like Irvine could do miracles with Ragnarok.

As the bay doors closed, the ship suffered another powerful blow that strained its supports as it groaned in complaint. Irvine's voice echoed both off their collar radios and the overhead speakers. "What was that? There's some... guy on the ship's tail?" Bangs followed, explosive attacks that even the hull of a space-faring vehicle couldn't withstand for long.

If Squall had an ounce of humor, he would have been hysterical at this point. Instead, he clicked on his radio, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What's the closest landmass? One that has many draw points and is unpopulated? Either/or, I'm not that picky."

Irvine huh-ed at the other end as he clicked on monitors and scrolled over islands. "You're in luck, boss. Remember 'The Island closest to Heaven'?"

Well, when fighting a god, Squall guessed that it wasn't irony.

Just fate.

Merciless, cruel fate.

**A/N: This chapter is very FF8 centric, but hey, Alex is in their world after all. Yeah, I went ahead and made the GFs a bit nastier than their in-game persona. Considering their source, you can't be too surprised. If anyone would like to see what all the GFs look like, you can search 'Guardian Forces final fantasy' on youtube. There's plenty of videos of the summons.**


End file.
